


A Hero's Journey

by gallifreys_consulting_hunter



Category: Original Work
Genre: Betrayal, Character Death, Comedy, Fights, Glossed-Over Action, I Don't Even Know, I Don't Think It's Graphic, Missing Persons, Non-Graphic Violence, Not Too Well-Written, Plotting Against Your Companions, References to My Immortal, Swords, Swords & Sorcery, meme references, see for yourself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29520309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gallifreys_consulting_hunter/pseuds/gallifreys_consulting_hunter
Summary: A person begrudgingly becomes the main character and tries to help save the world.Will they succeed, or will their training be for nothing?
Kudos: 3





	A Hero's Journey

**Author's Note:**

> so... hello! i had an assignment in my Ancient Civ class where we had to write a short story along the lines of the Epic of Gilgamesh, following the Hero's Journey, of course. It was supposed short, but I was doing it docs on my phone and ended up writing about 4 pages... which never happens. This is basically that, but I changed a couple things  
>   
> Anyways, I finally have inspiration and confidence in posting something instead of just lurking.  
> been wanting to post something on here for a little while, and I feel comfortable with this I guess?  
> It's cheesy at best.

_Ah yes, just walking home from school, an ordinary day,_ thought Alex the ordinary person. When they got home, they had a snack before going to relax in their room. Alex found it sort of unusual that no one else was home yet, but that had happened a couple times before. Probably just traffic.  
They walked to the living room and turned on the news. The headline was about a rising number of disappearances across the city. Haha, that’s not ominous at all! Alex thought, relaxing into the couch. The doorbell rang a couple times in quick succession. Better get that. They begrudgingly obeyed their thoughts and answered the door.  
“Hello?”  
“Hi Alex! Do you have a moment?” asked the girl at the door, somewhere around Alex’s age if they had to guess, but she had an ageless quality about her.  
“Um.. I guess so. What’s up?”  
“I believe you are destined for great things! Please drop everything that you are doing and come with me right now!”  
“How about ‘no,’ ” they answered, and promptly slammed the door shut. Her muffled protests could be heard through the door, from the couch where Alex sat down once more.  
“Please! It can only be you! You are the Chosen One, you have a higher calling!”  
Not one to shy away from voicing their wants, Alex yelled to her from across the room. “The only thing I have a calling for is barely-above-average grades and watching anime! GO! AWAY!”  
“NO! Open the door!”  
Alex got up and opened the door, just a bit.  
“Please come with me? I can teach you cool stuff,” she enticed them with a sing-songy tone.  
“Fine. Lemme get some stuff.” Alex went to their room, dumped out their backpack and tossed in some clothes, snacks, and computer and phone chargers, uncertain about needing those last two. But she did say a Chosen One’s journey. Couldn’t be too safe.  
So the two left, Alex putting a note on the kitchen counter in case anyone came home.  
\----------------------  
“Hey, I don’t know your name,” Alex realised as the two were walking down a dirt road.  
“Oh! Call me Millie,” she readily replied.  
“So, Millie, what am I chosen for? You manage to get me to come with you to who-knows-where with no explanation, and I’d like to know why.”  
“Those disappearances that have been happening? We need you to kill the being behind it, bring back his head. I’m supposed to help you defeat him. Guide you, so-to-speak. We’re here.”  
Millie led the way down a cracked walkway to a derelict house. Otherworldly screeching came from off to their side, before a monster ran towards them, fangs bared.  
“Get down!” Millie shouted, but Alex didn’t listen. They ran right at it, meeting it blow for blow, doing crazy backflips and pushing off of the monster's limbs to gain momentum for a final attack: absolutely decking it in the face. It caved beneath the fist, blood spurting from the wound, moving sluggishly across the yard.  
The door opened and someone came out running, taking down the thing with a scythe-like weapon. “Hey you two! Great job, Alex. You passed!” said the stranger.  
“A test?!”  
“Yup.”  
“Are you a friend?”  
“I’d like to think so.”  
“I saved you?”  
“You demonstrated an ability you didn’t know you had, so in a way.”  
“Cool,” Alex mumbled, and passed out.  
\------------------  
“Hey, you. You’re finally awake,” said Millie, really only to Alex, but also the guy from earlier, because they were the only ones around.  
“Ready for some training, journeying, and motivation to be glossed over so we can get right to the lair of Phasewing? He’s the one who’s been making people disappear,” said the guy from earlier.  
Alex semi-coherently mumbled “Sounds good. Uh who are you?”  
“I’m the guy from earlier. Why?”  
“I meant your name.”  
“Oh, that makes more sense. Call me Vampire,” he said.  
“Why?” Alex questioned.  
“Because I like the taste of blood,” he giggled.  
“Really?” they whimpered.  
“Yeah.” he roared.  
“Actually don’t do that. I mess with everyone who asks me my name. Just call me Rhett.”  
\------------------  
Having trained with the help of Millie and Rhett, and traveled along the way, the trio finally reached the lair of Phasewing. It was light out, in the altered plane of existence that the thing resided in. Rumored to be a dragon, his lair was guarded by monsters similar to the one that Alex had taken on at the house. These were said to be only the most loyal and trusted by Phasewing, enough that the mastermind had given the garrison the deadliest weapons ever created, enough to kill even their leader.  
So that was the plan: take out some of the guard, get inside and use their weapons to kill Phasewing, which would put all of those who had vanished back on earth.  
Well, that went pretty great. None of their trio died or was incapacitated, just tired. Everyone had at least one of the weapons from the guards on duty, and counted themselves lucky that there were no guards inside.  
Phasewing was relaxing on part of a rocky wall, laying on part that jutted out, giving him full view of the room should he choose to pay attention. Not that he had much to worry about, having a loyal garrison that had been put through the most rigorous training known in the universe. The dragon had red and orange scales, massive wings with claw tips at each winglet, the slight protrusion at the main joint. He’d heard some soldiers refer to it as a ‘pointy thumb.’ His ‘pointy thumbs’ were black, and glinted orange in the light of the torches. His eyes were blue, not like the sky or the ocean, but a brightened version of the eternal cosmos, practically forbidden.

As Alex entered the chambers, Phasewing raised his head and slid down from his rocky ledge.  
“Who are you? How did you get in here?” His voice was loud, echoing a bit through the room, but more curious than the demanding, authoritative tone that Alex had thought the multidimensional dragon would have.  
“We have defeated your army, and now I’ll slay you, returning the people you’ve abducted back to their homes!” _This is something only I can do..._  
“‘We’,’ dear child? I thought the Chosen One would work alone.”  
Millie entered from behind Alex, looking deep into the dragon’s eyes. “They do. Alex, kill him.”  
So they did. They ran towards him, quicker than should have been possible for a human, but not for Alex. Running up a wing, along the small spikes that traveled the length of the spine.  
“Wait, please don’t,” the great being cried out, immobile with fear. “You don’t understa—“  
Then Alex was leaping up and slicing one of the stolen swords through Phasewing’s neck. His head thumped on the ground, and there was a wet sound when Alex landed beside it.  
“F in the chat,” said Rhett, only appearing once it was convenient. The others repeated the sentiment.  
“Beautifully done,” Millie praised Alex.  
“Thank you, Millie. Now everyone is safe! We did it!” they exclaimed.  
“Yes, we did. I’ve waited so long… for this moment.” She walked towards the head, and yanked one of the eyes out, putting it to her lips. “You truly had no idea, did you, Alex?” A pitying chuckle left her, and she swallowed the whole thing. Alex and Rhett stared in horror.  
“No, I made sure you heard nothing about this.” A shaking went through the cavern, and rocks fell, blocking most of the archway leading out. Now the only light was from the torches.  
“Honestly, if I weren’t so smart, it would be kind of sad. You really thought you were chosen? You actually believed that crap? Ha!”  
“Why, Millie? What are you talking about?” Tears filled both Alex’s and Rhett’s eyes and spilled over, streaking their now dust-covered faces.  
“Well, since I’m going to kill you both anyways, I guess there’s no reason not to tell.” An invisible force had the two non-power-corrupt people sitting on the bloody floor.  
“I used to be loyal to Phasewing, one of his most trusted advisors. And I eventually realized that I could be more. I was important, but had so much potential, ambition, and I found a new cause. I could use humans, certain humans, to create an army, become a—“ Millie cried out, pain clear on her face, and her eyes started glowing, all of it a dark blue but somehow flooding the chamber with a purple light.  
She screamed, loudly of course, and a shadow formed behind her, clearly originating from her but looking nothing like the woman.  
The shadow had wings, claws, a tail.  
Then it vanished.  
“Millie, what are you saying? You planned to abduct people, brainwash them into your perfect warriors? And Phasewing...what did he do?” Alex cried out, reeling from all of the information.  
“I think I get it,” Rhett said. “Your superior found out, didn’t he? He at least had the mind to realize that it was wrong. He tried to stop you, vanished all of your candidates, right?”  
Millie had recovered from the shadow, “Well, he tried.”  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”  
“Oh, come on, Alex. You can’t be this stupid. I still got you, didn’t I? Sure, you resisted at first, but it was so. Easy. And now it’s time for your final lesson, if you’re thick-headed enough to have not realized this yet: Never. Trust. Anyone.”  
With a rush of power, Rhett was choking on blood, and he slumped over, dead.  
“Y-you… I’LL KILL YOU!” Alex screamed, pushing against Millie’s immobilizing power, taking the same blade they used to slay Phasewing to bring down Millie. The girl didn’t even have time to react, dead in less than half a second.  
\------------------  
_Well, that was a nightmare,_ Alex thought as they walked along the road, retracing the steps they had taken with people they had once trusted, dragging the sword and Phasewing’s head behind them.  
Somehow they managed to get home without being arrested or detained or something, and there was no one there.  
They trudged to their room, tossing the head and weapon on the bed before curling up on the floor and falling asleep.  
\------------------  
“Alex, come get some food!” their mom called from the hallway.  
“I’m coming,” they mumbled from the floor, tired to their bones. Apparently it just took a bit for people to come back, and they had no memory of the events.  
“Hey, sleepyhead! How’s it going?”  
They just grunted in response.  
“Okay then. I think I heard knocking at the door. Would you get that?”  
“I really don’t want to, but I guess.” They walked to the door, opened it, picked up a letter lying on the mat, went back to the kitchen.  
“What’s that?” Their mom asked.  
Alex stared at the letter, momentarily speechless.  
“Um, nothing. Just junk mail. I need to use the bathroom.”  
They ran off and scanned it more. No doubt, it was a call to help fight more monsters, another group, with more things going missing.  
Of course Alex would go and help, but they wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. They knew they really did have a purpose, a greater calling. No matter how sinister the origins of their abilities, they would always use it for good.

**Author's Note:**

> basically my outline, based on a comic i saw earlier:  
> [Ah ordinary world i love it] [“hi im the call to adventure” “I REJECT YOU!!” *crash* “but alas, i have been forced into action”] [the magic sword was in my wall the whole time!] [surprise, i was the villain all along!] [i have to defeat you before you destroy the world!]
> 
> I'd love to know what you thought!


End file.
